Sad but inevitable.
I had the pleasure to hang out with him a few times and hear some tdb demo's before they were released. Right now this feels like a tremendous privilege.
Glad I got to see him play a lot with various bands being from the same town.
I have tremendous respect for this man, his oeuvre and his decision.
Selim, may you find find your peace in eternity!_________________Basement-dwelling version of Ted Bundy with a distortion pedal.

you are master of your life. suicide sucks but if you are not enjoying life or having other convictions for ending it, the choice is yours. shouldn't torture yourself in order to please others.

this... selim was far from mentally ill and made a very conscious decision. that is to be respected, not mocked..

Depends on what you call mental illness. Selim suffered from depression. Still, I also believe his decision was a concious one._________________Basement-dwelling version of Ted Bundy with a distortion pedal.

The competition of who "knew" him the most has begun on facebook. Ridiculous to see bands taking advantage of these things just to get some free publicity. I pretty sure 95% didn't know the guy personally. Sure they may have played a few shows together but all this "oh brother talk" is just laughable. First place right now must be In Solitude, with mentioning the word "brother" seven times in their post.

Agreed on your general point, except TDB and IN SOLITUDE were indeed very close._________________

I won't pretend like I was a big Devil's Blood fan when I first heard them. In fact, I passed them off as another "retro rock" sensation without really delving into them. By the time I sat down and listened to "Come, Reap" I was completely surprised at what I was hearing. It was not simply "retro rock" or "occult rock" for that matter, it was rock n' roll darkness. I watched a few interviews with Selim, and that really made me appreciate the band more. He was not a pretentious goon spouting off at the mouth about his love for Satanism, but rather a reclusive, unique, tortured soul who was at one with chaos. I'm not surprised this man chose to end his existence, I would even go as far as to say he had death in his eyes, and knew exactly when to carry out this self fulfilling deed.

Dark mother of the endless sea
I bow down to kneel before Thee
I shake and I tremble in Thy sight

Companion to the Ancient Ones
Your darkness is like a thousand suns
Pain and doom in the light of the moon

On the steps to the burning grounds
I was lost but now I am found
No more shall I hang my head in shame

The ash and smoke take my breath away
And as my blood starts to mix with the clay
I tear these chains away

Horror and laughter
Cyanide and wine
Dark possession
My life is thine

On the steps to the burning grounds
I was lost but now I am found
No more shall I hang my head in shame

The ash and smoke take my breath away
And as my blood starts to mix with the clay
I tear these chains away

sick of this suicide love in bullshit like these clowns are somehow enlightened and can see a clear path .sad to see a young man top himself of course ,especially for a shitty music scene .

I get you. But I don't think he died "for a shitty music scene". I didn't know him, and I don't know any of the people who knew him (I'm just some fan) - but my perception is that he died because he was the kind of person who, in every culture, and in every age, is inclined to die.

Threading its way through every religious/occult system of thought, and even through a lot of ideological systems which regard themselves as secular, is the gnostic impulse. Whether the objective is 'salvation', 'freedom', or 'nirvana', it basically comes from the same place: a sense that life as we know it is incomplete, flawed, and maybe even a kind of prison - that the finitude of human/animal existence is an illusion behind which lies 'something else'. And further, that one is intimately connected with this 'something else'.

People whose lives are full of suffering and alienation are particular inclined to pick up this thread and pursue it vigorously. But it's not just the weak and unhappy. Even those who are rich, powerful, and totally 'fulfilled' in every social and material sense often come to feel that life as they've known it is stale and empty - a source of pain, in some way. If you're at all familiar with Buddhism, you know that this is the legend behind the Buddha's enlightenment - that even from a place of princely wealth and comfort, he was aware of the suffering inherent in the embodied/finite/mortal condition.

All that said, I think it's a mistake to regard death as an escape. I respect the earnestness and commitment of people like Selim Lemouchi - theirs is a genuinely religious impulse in a world that can no longer really recognize such impulses. At the same time, I know that there's no inherent enlightenment in death. This board probably isn't the place for a 'serious discussion' about metaphysics and soteriology, but suffice to say that it is those who most want to "escape" the prison who are the most deeply ensnared. Those who think that the absolute/abyss/divine is "somewhere else", I think, are deeply mistaken.

In any case - much goodwill towards Selim Lemouchi (and similar cases), but much sympathy for those who are injured by his death.

i hope he didnt realise what he was doing and regretted it instantly .

sick of this suicide love in bullshit like these clowns are somehow enlightened and can see a clear path .sad to see a young man top himself of course ,especially for a shitty music scene .

hmm, if the man was depressed and suffered that manner of mental illness, I doubt he was considering the way it would play out on internet forums and be all mystical and magical for the ones left behind to turn into some artistic romance with death.

As for being enlightened, that is all a matter of perspective isn't it? The way in which death is regarded today is a far cry from the past, there used to be honor in it via battle or something like that, these days it seems more prudent to keep a dying sack of flesh mechanically alive for as long as possible with zero respect to the cycles of life and death. In fact it seems like nature and the natural is offensive to the way we view things these days.

Yea, it seems like a waste when someone still considerably young takes the path of suicide, cause so many more enlightened people feel that their psychological help or medications would be a better choice to make a happier life? ...it is what it is I suppose in reality, some people are just not caught mesmerized by the glamor of the illusions anymore. They option out. Who is really to say if it's right or wrong?

Maybe it's too early to tell if he left anything behind, such as a will, notes or maybe a satanic grimoire like Jon N. did?
Salim's passing reminds me a bit of Jon's, in reaching the highest point and having nothing else to offer. .as it was said.
Just wondering if more will be revealed in the coming days/weeks._________________Speeding Through Hell!
Metal Storm 'zine
-l-
http://www.freewebs.com/metalstormzine/

I get you. But I don't think he died "for a shitty music scene". I didn't know him, and I don't know any of the people who knew him (I'm just some fan) - but my perception is that he died because he was the kind of person who, in every culture, and in every age, is inclined to die.

Threading its way through every religious/occult system of thought, and even through a lot of ideological systems which regard themselves as secular, is the gnostic impulse. Whether the objective is 'salvation', 'freedom', or 'nirvana', it basically comes from the same place: a sense that life as we know it is incomplete, flawed, and maybe even a kind of prison - that the finitude of human/animal existence is an illusion behind which lies 'something else'. And further, that one is intimately connected with this 'something else'.

People whose lives are full of suffering and alienation are particular inclined to pick up this thread and pursue it vigorously. But it's not just the weak and unhappy. Even those who are rich, powerful, and totally 'fulfilled' in every social and material sense often come to feel that life as they've known it is stale and empty - a source of pain, in some way. If you're at all familiar with Buddhism, you know that this is the legend behind the Buddha's enlightenment - that even from a place of princely wealth and comfort, he was aware of the suffering inherent in the embodied/finite/mortal condition.

All that said, I think it's a mistake to regard death as an escape. I respect the earnestness and commitment of people like Selim Lemouchi - theirs is a genuinely religious impulse in a world that can no longer really recognize such impulses. At the same time, I know that there's no inherent enlightenment in death. This board probably isn't the place for a 'serious discussion' about metaphysics and soteriology, but suffice to say that it is those who most want to "escape" the prison who are the most deeply ensnared. Those who think that the absolute/abyss/divine is "somewhere else", I think, are deeply mistaken.

In any case - much goodwill towards Selim Lemouchi (and similar cases), but much sympathy for those who are injured by his death.